Reznor tells rock bands to "break the rules"

NIN ace hits out at "cowardly" groups

Trent Reznor has hit out at bands who stay “safe” in an effort to attract positive reviews.

The Nine Inch Nails frontman has urged rock bands to express themselves and “break the rules”, rather than take the "cowardly" route of keeping on the good side of reviewers.

Reznor tells the Daily Record: “A pretty conservative nature has crept into music and I don’t mean sonically. I get the sense that a lot of bands today are designing themselves to get a good review in the hip blogs and that is probably the safest and most cowardly thing you can do as an artist. If you have something to say, then say it. Express yourself and break the rules.

“What I try to straddle is paying attention to what is happening in the outside world to some degree and at the same time becoming insular and really trusting my own voice and my own sense of what is right and appropriate. I don’t hear tons of that going on right now.”